Julie Chen Moonves Thought Her Career Was ‘Over’ After ‘Panned’ 1st ‘Big Brother’ Season
Critics hated it. Executives almost pulled the plug mid-season. And the woman hosting it thought she'd just torched her journalism career. Twenty-eight seasons later, Julie Chen Moonves is the one having the last laugh.
Julie Chen Moonves didn’t want to host a reality show. She wanted 60 Minutes, a passport full of stamps, and a career that people took seriously. What she got instead was Big Brother — and in 2026, that show is about to air its 1,000th episode.
The road there was anything but smooth.
Julie Chen Moonves CBS Broadcasting, Inc
Season 1 Nearly Killed the Whole Thing
“Season 1 was panned by the critics,” Julie, 56, told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the season 28 premiere. “There was talk that they would end the show mid-season live.”
She paused on the absurdity of it. “I’m like, ‘Do they just open the door and go home? How does this work?'”
At the time, Julie was a legitimate news anchor — WCBS-TV in New York, CBS Morning News, The Early Show. Hosting a reality show where strangers lived in a house and got voted out weekly was not exactly the prestige pivot she had in mind.
The backlash from the news world was immediate. “People from 60 Minutes were like, ‘They should fire her right away from news. She’s blurring the lines between news and entertainment.'”
Julie’s own verdict on herself? “My career is over.”
Julie Chen Moonves Matthew Taplinger/CBS
She Trusted the Process Anyway
She didn’t quit. She didn’t get fired. And Big Brother didn’t get canceled.
Instead, it quietly became one of the longest-running reality franchises in American television — launching the careers of fan favorites like Dan Gheesling, Janelle Pierzina, and Cody Calafiore, and turning a summer filler show into a cultural institution.
“We went from almost canceled to me almost fired to the 1,000th episode,” Julie said. “This is why I think Big Brother is so successful — because life is unexpected.”
Now She’s Chasing Bob Barker
These days, Julie can’t imagine spending her summers anywhere else. And she’s setting her sights on something specific.
“Bob Barker hosted The Price Is Right 55 seasons,” she said with a grin. “I’m a competitive person. I’m like, ‘Bring it, Bob Barker — I will do this to season 56, God willing.'”
For a woman who once thought hosting this show would end her career, that’s a pretty extraordinary place to land.
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